i wouldn't consider not coming back for a second. it's just who i am. you know, i have to prove myself again now. [ cheers and applause ] >> announcer: next week on "cnn presents". >> talk about "achey breaky heart." his divorce. two women pregnant with his babies at the same time. and of course his roller coaster relationship with his superstar daughter miley. >> as a father, i was alarmed for my daughter's safety. >> tonight, billy ray cyrus on his life, his family, his music, and of course that mullet.

>> the greatest mullet in the history of music. what were you thinking with that hair? billy ray cyrus for the hour. this is "piers morgan tonight." billy ray, how are you? >> i'm doing great. >> my first question, did you ever have this terrible nagging feeling if you suddenly keeled over from a heart attack tomorrow, the headlines would be, miley cyrus dad dies of an achey breaky heart? >> if that were the case, that's what it's going to read. as ironic as my life is at times, that will probably be the way i go. >> you have had an extraordinarily checkered life. i was researching you. you've had great highs. great lows. fair liberal dose of scandal and drama and everything else. how would you -- as you approach your 50th birthday. by the way, you have weathered

much better than i have. as you approach it, how would you sum up your life? >> i would sum it up as for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. for me, there's never been anything in the middle. it's always been white hot or ice cold. it i goes back to my childhood, you know, when i was either going through what a kid at that time might be going through in eastern kentucky. my mom and dad got divorced when i was 5 years old and a lot of adversities. there was the other side of my life i look back on now and go, wow, on one hand, that was the best of times, you know? just growing up, i had a lot of good friends. and always loved nature. and there was a lot of woods, obviously, the name flatwoods, kentucky, there was a lot of woods to go out and ride horses and play.

so it was either really sad or really happy. there wasn't a whole lot in between. >> as a musician all your life, does being able to have both extremes in your life, is that good for the creative process? >> i'd kind of like to know some vanilla. like something in the middle. >> a quiet year. >> just have one good normal time. i don't think it will be the case for me. probably never will. >> your daughter's inherited a slightly rebellious streak i would say as she gets a bit older. i've watched her incredible rise to fame. we will come to mily a bit later. just as a general principle of the billy ray and miley life pattern, you can see a similar thing. where you were -- i love this line. your grandfather is a pentacostal preacher. a father who was a state leg slater

and you a juvenile delinquent. >> to be honest, and again, it was that opposite equal reaction. my pappa was a pentecostal preacher. my dad in government. at the same time, on any given night, if i could get the police to chase me, that was a successful night. if they didn't chase me, then i was doing something wrong. >> now you're a father. when you see miley occasionally falling off the straight and narrow, do you recognize that slightly rebellious edge to her? >> of course. you know. i think certainly she gets a lot of that from her old man. >> what have you learned about yourself over the last 50 years? >> i've learned that it's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get back up. and that's kind of -- i think the key for everybody in life, you know. >> what's the key to getting back on your feet when you've had a big blow? >> dust yourself off. it's just like baseball. i compare life to a baseball game a lot of times. other times you know you dive in. you might get called out. you might get safe, whatever.

you get that dirt on you. the first thing you want to do is collect yourself and dust yourself off. and life is a game of making adjustments, you know. and it's a journey. and i think that for all of us, including myself, i think it's a matter of going through this journey of life and sometimes you make good calls, sometimes you make bad calls. but the main thing is knowing the difference and making adjustments. >> what would you say has been the best and worst moments of your life? >> mm. well, the best. the best being here with you. >> of course. from the obvious. apart from that. >> apart from that, the best would be sitting on top of the hill with my kids. dad. sitting around a fire. roasting marshmallows. laughing, talking about life. just living and being happy. >> existing in a blissful scenario.

>> i think -- again, a lot of the times with the kids i, you know, sit around -- outside. i love being outside. we built big fires up on top of the hill. and sit out, look at the stars. roast marshmallows. wieners. i was good at those types of things with my kids. i wasn't good at sitting them down and saying, you know, let's do your algebra now. that wasn't my -- i wasn't good at that. wasn't good at doing that for myself, you know. >> that's kind of what teachers are for. >> maybe. >> why you send kids to school. i don't want to send all my time teaching my kids that kind of stuff. life lessons are much more important. steering them in a way that's going to make their lives more interesting. >> that's right. i taught them to ride motorcycles. horses. camp out. play baseball. >> what would you say has been the worst moment of your life? >> oh, gosh. i have several to choose from. >> the one you'd least like to go through again? >> gosh.

>> power inflicted on you. what would you least want to go through? >> oh, my gosh. yesterday was my dad's birthday and he passed away about five years ago. of mesothelioma. i kind of want to say the day that he passed away was one of the worst days of my life. but quite frankly, yesterday, knowing it was his birthday, it was kind of reliving it all again. i still miss him a great deal. he was a great friend to me. a great dad. matter of fact, i try to model myself as a parent after my dad. >> what were his values he tried to instill in you? >> first of all, he had a real love of music. he had a love of people. and i find a lot of that is a whole lot of who i am to this day. i love people. that's why i make music. and i channel my emotions through that music and hopefully to translate to other people

around the world, to touch people's lives. >> when you've been going through these little scrapes with miley in the last year or so, what advice would your dad have given you, do you think? ever think about it? ever wonder what he would have said? >> i share that with miley, with all my kids. if you ain't happy, it ain't working. you got to do what you do because you love it, not because you have to. >> i want to play you inevitably a little bit of the song that catapulted you into the global celebrity stratus fear. i was 27. i was in london. i remember this damn thing. everybody in the country was singing this song. so i've never forgotten that. so seeing you here in the flesh brings it all back. so i need to hear the music again. let's hear a little bit of "achey breaky heart." >> okay. ♪ don't tell my heart

♪ my achey breaky heart ♪ i just don't think he'd understand ♪ ♪ that if you tell my heart ♪ ooh whoo >> that is the greatest mullet in the history of music. never mind the song. what were you thinking with that hair? >> you know what? i think it started way back when i still thought i was going to be a baseball player. i thought i was going to be the catcher for the cincinnati reds. i wanted to be the next johnny bench. always kept my head kind of -- kind of like a little burr haircut. i think at some point i think i started growing a little tail. i think it grew -- >> a little tail? alligator. out of control. when you watch yourself, what are you honestly thinking? when you see yourself there? >> well, i do look extremely happy. >> well, you were number one in about 100 countries. >> and the year before that, i lived in my car. i was homeless. >> really?

>> yeah. >> a year before that? >> a year before that. in 1991. >> so you would have been what, about 29? >> 29. >> 29 years old. you've got no money. you're living in your car. and what's the dream when you're living in that car? >> well, the dream was and the prayer was that i would pray that god would give me the wisdom and the vision to sing the songs i was supposed to sing, to do the things i was supposed to do, to be the person i was supposed to be, and through my life and my music, i prayed that god would give me the ability to represent the light and his love. and be something positive -- >> and the lord sent the world achey breaky hart heart? >> actually, maybe he did. i'm sure -- however it ended up

coming, it was odd, you know, i had -- >> what was the moment for you when you realized this song was going to change your life? >> well, i had ten songs recorded for the album. i was sitting in my guitar player's apartment the day we were rehearsing to go record the album and my producer played me a piece of the song. it just started. the guitar was chucking. they said, you can tell the world you never was my girl. you can burn my clothes up when i'm gone. and i stood up and said, "that's me, that's me." "i love it." because it was bar band trash. like, just rocking, just fun. >> 11:00 at the bar, everyone's had a few drinks. >> absolutely, boom. it just felt like a good time waiting to happen. i jumped up. i said "that's me." >> when did it explode? when did you get a call or you thought, wow, okay, this is going? >> the night we did the video in ashland, kentucky, that very night, i felt like something changed. i could feel like something's about to happen. quite frankly, it's really -- that's what i go on, is just instincts, and i did have a feeling that night, this feels like something about to happen. and then about a month later, we

played a show called the ralph emery show on tnn. and it was a live show. at that time it was almost like being on johnny carson or ed sullivan show. that was kind of like my ed sullivan, the night we played that show. i felt the teeter go to totter that night. >> the teeter go to totter? i love that phrase. what happened when the teeter goes to totter? >> i got really busy, and started getting on a lot of airports and getting in a lot of limousines. >> everything had changed. >> i was, you know, just a kid from flatwoods, kentucky, that had a dream. i hadn't really travelled that much. >> we're going to take a little break and come back and talk about miley and how she's now experiencing exactly what her old man went through and what you feel about that. we'll deliver better service,

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back with my special guest

billy ray cyrus. let's talk miley. unlike most of the world, when i read your recent controversial "gq" interview, i nodded my way through it. as a parent, i totally got where -- in the entertainment world, i totally got where you were coming from. maybe emotional in parts. i actually thought, well, you know what, it had to be said. maybe the family had to read this. digest it. and think about what "hannah montana," this global phenomenon, had actually done to you as a family. >> i realized that i made a big mistake even giving that interview. it was the darkest time of my life. of dark. not -- i mean, it was dark. and turbulent and that would have been a real good time for

me to probably go sit by the fire alone, you know? >> well, you were on your own. >> you split up from the love of your life, your wife. you were probably feeling pretty depressed. lonely. all the things that come with it. when i read it cold again yesterday. it wasn't so sure it was such a big mistake. >> yeah, i just think, you know, that wasn't a good time for me to do an interview. i'm sure of that. >> it is seeringly honest. it is how you felt. >> i was definitely dealing -- >> you'd seen your family slightly fractured by -- and the fame aspect couldn't be irrelevant to it. >> i felt like and still feel like that, you know, my family was the definition of my life. that was the most important thing. what billy ray cyrus was all b

i seen it coming unravelled. again, probably even more so makes sense why it wasn't a really good time to give that interview. especially setting at my kitchen table in my home alone, you know. it just -- >> feeling sorry for yourself. >> yeah, the interview -- i probably was, you know, to be honest. it had been set up for quite some time. the interview was supposed to happen. it just wasn't supposed to happen like that. i kind of look back on it and go, man, it's like everything in life. you make some good calls. you made some bad ones. what you got to pray for is to know the difference between the two and to be able to make adjustments. >> how did miley actually react to the interview? >> shoot, i don't know, you know. >> the next time you spoke to her, what did she say?

>> um, it was such a -- again, a dark time. i don't think there was a whole lot. it was more of just the emotions of seeing that our whole family was really falling apart. >> a hard time for you. >> sad time for you. it wasn't good. >> i want to play a little clip from "hannah montana" so we can see all the fuss is about. for the two people on the planet who haven't seen it. look at this. >> dad, you gave up your whole life so i could have my dream. how can i stop you from having yours? >> you kids are my dream. i didn't give up my career because i had to. i gave it up because i wanted to. >> i mean, pretty poignant, that clip. we chose that because i'd be talking to you about this period in your life. when you see that real life was mirroring that clip in many ways for you. you'd make sacrifices for your daughter. she was this huge international star. the effect for whatever reason on your family was pretty

cataclysmic. >> yes, sir, that's correct. it is ironic you show that clip. i think that's one of the things that really connected about "hannah montana" was the realism that wait a minute, this is art imitating life, imitating art, it was so real. it was so real that, you know, even miley originally she was going to be kiley. i just kept calling her miley. the producers said, hey, just go with miley. she's going to be miley, not kiley. i look back on it. i think that was the key moment in the story of "hannah montana." had it not been so real, had there not been so many moments that came right out of the pages of our life even down to the song i wrote about miley. one of the episodes called "ready, set, don't go," i wrote that song as miley left for

california. the series was picked up. i knew that her life and our lives as a family was going to change. and my little girl was growing up. and just kind of came to me. just they were disappearing down the driveway. i came in and picked up my guitar. just wrote what i was feeling. >> what were you really feeling as she disappeared down the driveway? knowing the pitfalls of the business? knowing how many child stars in particular end up in a very dysfunctional way in their lives? >> i just knew that there was a whole lot of change ahead. i could just feel it. >> were you excited, were you worried? frightened? >> at the moment, it's best to just -- if you hear the words of the song, she's got to do what she's got to do. she's got dreams too big for

this town. she has to girlfriend them a shot. you know? >> take you back to that driveway and say, okay, listen, you can start by getting in the car. you can stop her leaving now. you can stop this train before it leaves the station. the fame. the whole thing. would you take that option? >> no. this was miley's dream. this was her -- i believe -- >> same dream you had -- >> her purpose was to touch people's lives through her music and hear life. i still believe. you know, her name was originally destiny hope. which i had given her the name before she was born. because i had a vision -- >> that wouldn't have worked -- >> it wouldn't have worked. i know. i felt it was her destiny to bring hope to the world. when i see her selling out arenas around the world or this tv show, making people laugh, bringing families into the living room together.

and we always, you know, try to put positive messages in each episode if we could. and, you know, i do think that she -- this is her purpose, is -- her path. you know, i think she's a natural born singer/songwriter/entertainer. she's a great actress. she's got a lot to offer the world as -- >> well she certainly -- she has all those things. incredible talent. unbelievable. when we come back, we're going to talk more miley. in particular, i'll race through this, naughty pictures in magazines. pole dancing at teen choice awards. bong gate. and underage drinking. >> is this about me? >> incredibly, not you. although it probably was actually. [ cherie ] i wanted to make a difference in my community. [ kimberly ] the university gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. [ carrie ] you're studying how to be an effective leader. [ cherie ] you're dealing with professionals,

teaching things that they were doing every day. [ kimberly ] i manage a network of over a thousand nurses. [ carrie ] i helped turn an at-risk school into an award-winning school. [ cherie ] i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah. [ kimberly ] and university of phoenix made it possible. learn more at phoenix.edu. but i did. they said i couldn't fight above my weight class. but i did. they said i couldn't get elected to congress.

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>> after being under police and public scrutiny, casy anthony is now free. she walked out of jail. 12 days earlier, a jury acquitted her of murdering her daughter. about a thousand people were out in protest. >> security was high. her attorneys say she has had

multiple death threats and her parents' attorneys believe she has left orlando. ♪ celebrate good times, come on ♪ ♪ the latest wake-up song for the crew. it was played for sandy maginous. they answered questions from middle school students. >> the world cup for the u.s. lost the final on penalty kicks after overtime ended with a 2-2 tie. it ends a magic run, they hoped to become the first americans to win the cup. japan was the underdog was persevered to become the first asian team to ever win the tournament.

back with billy ray cyrus. i want to play you a moment. 1984. this is your little baby miley. quite literally. >> the whole world was just going so fast. >> is this your daughter? is this miley? oh, miley. >> hey, miley, look in the camera. do your eyes, miley. do your eyes, miley. do your eyes. very talented child. she learned that from her dad. >> can i tell you something, this is very dangerous, you're teaching her to flirt at a very early age. you're going to be in big trouble when she's about, what, 12, 13? >> wow. >> great clip, isn't it? >> it's amazing. again, art imitating life imitating art. >> absolutely right. but that girl was born to perform. even then, totally unfazed. i see it a lot on "america's got talent."

when you get these young ones. you look at how intimidated they are in the environment. dealing with a crowd going crazy or laughing or applauding. she had it. even at that age. >> she was about that size -- we were doing a tribute to elvis presley at the pyramid in memphis, tennessee. right around that same time period. she came out on stage with some of the biggest stars in the world. everybody was holding her. she had her hands up. she was singing. the last guy to hold her at the end of the song was tony bennett. and tony bennett came -- as the song ended, he said, you've got a special little girl here. and i've often wondered if he recalls that, that moment. >> even then, he could see it. >> he was the last one holding her. tony bennett. said, you've got a special little girl here. >> i mean, how would you describe what she is really like. forget the media stereotype, the caricature. what are the biggest misconceptions about your

daughter, do you think? >> i think that might be one in itself, is that -- she -- she really -- she's the real deal. what you see is what you get. i mean, she's for real. and, you know, she ain't perfect and i sure as hell ain't, you know. i mean, none of us are. but miley really, really has a good heart. and she loves people. she loves music. she loves entertaining. she loves -- there's a lot of things that miley does that i wouldn't go into right now, on a humanitarian basis. but miley is a great humanitarian. she really cares about her fellow man. and people and, oh, my goodness, the planet, animals. she has a great heart. >> i met her once. i was doing an oscars red carpet for nbc. and she came down.

i did all these big stars and stuff. and i was struck by how confident she was. >> as i was doing my first series "d.o.c." and miley, she kept saying, daddy, can they write something in for me? so they wrote her in one episode. from the time she did that episode, she was -- can they write me in next week? can they write me in next week? a few weeks after that, she and i went to see "mamma mia" in toronto and i'll never forget it. it was that combination of acting and the performance on stage, the singers. and she said, that's what i want to do. and she -- she started studying, like, i mean -- it was like on the radar of, i'm going to be a great actress and this is what i'm going to do. and she just started -- like there was no -- she burnt all bridges of everything else. i'm going to be a great actress and a singer/songwriter. this is what i'm going to do.

and she applied herself. >> obviously like any teenager, just like a dad, fell off the rails a little bit. i mean, not i don't think that bad to be honest with you. take you through very quickly the four miley scandals to see what you really think. given that you yourself were no angel. so the "vanity fair" pictures which were the first real kind of scandal i guess and you were both caught up in this. looking back on it, still -- >> didn't see anything horribly wrong about it. yet again, it was miley cyrus. >> were you surprised people said they were inappropriate? >> no, nothing surprises me. you know. people -- the media loves to judge. that's why i'm almost hesitant to give my opinion on anything anymore. because i think people are really tired of hearing another celebrity with their opinion on this or their opinion on that.

and so i've tried to just -- >> was the -- was the bong gate scandal worse for you to deal with? >> bong gate happened in the midst of a darkness, in my darkest hour -- >> so you took it worse perhaps than you would have been? >> by then, i was probably -- i was a bit numb of pain at that time. realizing that, you know, oh, my gosh, as a father, i was alarmed for my daughter's safety. but at the same time, my world was crumbling apart beneath my feet anyway so there wasn't a whole lot to do. >> what did she learn, do you think, miley? >> i think she learned, you know, that she probably, um, needed to make an adjustment in her life, you know.

that i think that maybe she felt at this time realizing, the old, much is expected from whom much is given. a certain amount of responsibility for all of us. >> do you think she woke up and realized actually with all the success and the fame and all the positives that go with that, actually, if you're a disney star, you have a responsibility as a role model, which is inarguable. it's not like being a rock star. if you're a disney star, it's different. you have got millions and millions of young people around the world who will copy. that's the difference. >> yeah. >> she realize that? >> i think so. >> hard. i mean, hard for any girl, i think, to be as successful as she's been, reach their teens, and not be allowed to behave how most teens behave. >> i look at it a lot of times. and realize miley really has --

she's given up a lot of what a lot of kids, especially teenagers, go through. she found herself being one of the biggest stars in the world. and i look back on it and go, wow, what an odd place for a teenager to be. at least i was -- you know, i was 30 years old when it happened for me. and so i was, you know, at least a little more prepared for however you can prepare for something like that. >> are you proud of her -- not professionally, but are you proud of her for the way she has dealt with these mini scandals? >> oh, heck yeah. i think the way she's -- again, it's like -- i want to say all kids and all teenagers but it really is all people. it is a matter of you go through life, you make some good calls, you make some bad calls.

it is a matter of knowing the difference and making adjustments. i think she is well on her way to being the happiest i have ever seen her. i think she's thriving as an artist right now. she has two movies in the can that she's worked on over the past several months. >> how's your relationship with her? >> really good. >> better than ever. let me rephrase that. i presume before she became famous -- it's never going to be as good as that because fame affects everything. since she's been famous, do you think you now have a stronger relationship than you did before? >> it goes back to what we talked about earlier, about that driveway, and seeing her disappear. heading west. and knowing what was about to happen. again, i knew what was going to happen. >> because you'd done it. >> and i think, oh, my gosh, but

it just seemed like yesterday she was on the front of my motorcycle and my little boy was on the back and we was riding down that same driveway. we didn't see what was coming. but we had a dream. and a love of music. and a passion of entertaining people. >> i want to talk to you when we come back out of this short break about another phenomenon, certainly by hollywood standards, is that you split from your wife. these dark places you talk about so candidly. and it all ended with bright lights and happiness. you're back with her. congratulations.

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back with billy ray cyrus. you have an extraordinary tale to tell with your wife, trish. you split up. it clearly was very dark. the way you're describing this. probably the worst time of your life. and you announced your divorce was going to happen. and then something happened. you went on "the view" recently. i'm going to play you a clip of what you said.

>> for the first time, me and my entire family are really communicating with each other. in a way that it's been quite some time. and to answer your question, things are really the best they've ever been. >> okay. >> and a lot of people think that i am divorced. i'm not divorced. >> so you're working on it. >> i dropped the divorce. i wanted to put my family back together. >> oh, so awesome. >> what do you think watching that? >> i think family's too important to just give up on them, you know? >> what went wrong? and then what went right when you look back? >> well, i think when you look back on it, you go, what went wrong, probably part of that rocket ride, you know. the whole family was on that ride. kind of like i said in the interview there. when you lose communication, you lose the key to any relationship.

i think what went right was the fact of realizing what's most important in life, you know? i think that it became clear keeping the family together was, you know, crucially important. >> you've been through so much. how do you win your wife back? >> you know, i just prayed for vision and strength. wisdom. to communicate. >> was there a moment when you thought okay, this is going to work? >> i guess there might have been a moment. maybe.

i think it was more about step by step, you know? >> given this ride you talk about, this rocket ride, was part of the problem, how have you adjusted things now so it works better for all of you? >> communication is the key. everybody just talk. what's on your mind. say it, you know. i think that's -- one of the biggest problems in the world is the lack of communication. look at all the crazy chaos going on all around the world that could just be solved with communication. >> miley must have been thrilled, wasn't she? >> i'm guessing so. >> come on. she must have said. >> she was. >> what a great thing for her i mean, you know, to be in her position. and then have to go through what you went through when you were 5 years old. hard, hard thing for a young

girl to deal with. >> it would have been tough for all the kids. >> yeah, i think probably -- did your mind flash back to how you felt as a 5-year-old? >> oh, yeah. yeah. >> you realize either i can make them all feel this way for a long time or i can fix this. >> correct. >> good for you. >> yeah. thank you. >> let's take another break. here at quicken loans, we take special pride in servicing clients that serve our country. my name is marjorie reyes. i'm a chief warrant officer.

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>> the company has decided to fly your son aaron to be here today. take a look right there. >> that is an emotional moment from billy ray's project, "surprise homecoming." >> it was an honor to be part of the show and be with the troops. the men and women in uniform are amazing. the sacrifice the entire family makes, the moms, the dads, the kids, especially. talking to their kids, missing

moms, dads, sometimes both at the same time, it has been a rewarding, i did this because i was passionate about our troops, i wrote a song "some gave all" about a vietnam veteran. to realize 20 years later, to find myself in the middle of iraq and afghanistan and surrounded by the bravest men and women in all the world. you know, there was one point where i was playing "some gave all" and it was interrupted with bomb blasts outside of kabul. one soldier stood up and said, keep going, mr. cyrus, we're used to it. i knew at that moment i was going to dedicate my music and my life to saying thanks to the troops and letting them know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice. >> the other thing that you care very passionately about is this charity you are involved in. tell me about it.

>> it's copd. if you want to learn -- >> what does it stand for? >> chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. >> and the relevance for you? >> my grandfather had problems breathing. he died when i was 11 or 12 years old. i mentioned my father who had mesothelioma. the struggle to breathe. the more i learned about copd i knew this was something we all need to learn about. go to driveforcopd.com. take a five-question screener, see if you are a candidate for the disease. and knowledge is power. the more you can learn to battle this disease, the better, the stronger we can be. the 4 stands for the fourth leading cause of death in america which i found considerably alarming. >> it is alarming. good luck with that and good luck with the album. >> thank you. >> "i'm american."

a very moody picture you have there. i must say. what does being an american mean to you? land of the free, home of the brave. the fact that our men and women in uniform past and present, have allowed folks like me and mily to have a dream and pursue that dream. in freedom. again, i'm so proud of our troops, their families and their service and their sacrifice. >> well, i'm going to ask you after this final break to perform a song from the album. you're going to sing, i think, "runway lights." you and your guitar. >> okay. >> it's been a pleasure. >> you, too, piers. an honor. thank you.

billy ray cyrus performing "runway lights" from his new album, "i'm american." take it away. ♪ graduated from lincoln high ♪ somehow i made my way through vmi ♪ ♪ joined the navy and i learned to fly ♪ ♪ that's what i always dreamed of ♪ ♪ there's a hometown girl who wears my ring her name is painted on my starboard wing ♪

♪ tonight i'm half a world from everything ♪ ♪ and everyone that i love ♪ i wonder how the yankees did tonight ♪ ♪ i sure hope grandma is doing all right ♪ ♪ i wish i knew what mom was cooking for supper ♪ ♪ i pray jane has got my letter ♪ knows how much i love her ♪ lord knows i've got a job to do ♪ ♪ i just can't wait until it's through ♪ ♪ i keep dreaming about that homebound flight ♪ ♪ looking for those runway lights ♪ ♪ ooh ♪ grandpa did his part for uncle sam ♪ ♪ daddy did his time in vietnam

♪ tonight i'm flying over, sea and sand ♪ ♪ through unfriendly skies ♪ man, if it was up to me ♪ i'd be touching down in tennessee ♪ ♪ my baby standing there waiting on me with tears in her eyes ♪ ♪ i wonder how the yankees did tonight ♪ ♪ i sure hope grandma is doing all right ♪ ♪ i wish i knew what mom was cooking for supper ♪ ♪ i pray jane got my letter ♪ knows how much i love her ♪ lord knows i've got a job to do ♪ ♪ i just can't wait until it's through ♪ ♪ i keep dreaming about that homebound flight ♪ ♪ looking for those runway lights ♪ ♪ ooh